Monterey HS Likely to Use Inclement Weather Day after Thurs. Closure

The Putnam County School System will petition for Monterey High School to use an inclement weather day after being closed for a water main break Thursday.

Deputy Director of Schools Corby King says the district usually submits a petition if a school closure can’t be prevented.

“We can petition for a waiver to use one of the inclement weather days for emergency situations such as sickness, or like the situation in Monterey [Thursday],” King says. “We can petition the commissioner’s office to use one of those 13 inclement weather days for Monterey just for [Thursday’s] situation.”

King says petitioning for the use of inclement weather days on an individual school is rare as closures usually impact the entire district.

“We get a lot of questions ‘why can’t we close Monterey only, and leave the rest of the schools open,'” King says. “That’s a state law in the state code in the attendance manual that’s given to us from the commissioner’s office that, to use inclement weather days, we have to close the entire system until those 13 days are expended.”

King says if any of the schools go beyond the 13 allotted days, the system will consider several options to make up time. Options include extending the school day, adding on to the end of the school year, or cutting into spring break.